A New Way to Classify Alzheimer ’ s Disease

Recent studies have identified biomarkers which can help predict the risk, as well as recognize the existence, of Alzheimer’s disease. Now, researchers involved with the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the Alzheimer’s Association (AA) have proposed a new biomarker-based definition of Alzheimer’s disease.
An article published in the April 2018 journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia discusses the proposal that Alzheimer’s disease should be defined by measurable, underlying pathologic processes that are able to be documented by either biomarkers or autopsy. This definition would be used for observational and interventional research only and would not affect clinical care at this time.
This change shifts the emphasis of Alzheimer’s from a “syndrome” to a biological construct and also updates diagnostic guidelines the NIA and AA previously established for preclinical, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Clifford Jack, chair of the committee that created this paradigm, says that this change would add Alzheimer’s disease to the list of biomarker-defined disorders including, but not limited to, hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. Because the disease would be defined biologically, patients involved in disease-modifying trials would undergo biomarker tests.
Dr. Jack goes on to say that, with the adoption of this new framework, the hope is that clinical trials will be “far more effective than they hav...

Source: World of Psychology - April 15, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Janet Singer Tags: Aging Alzheimer's Health-related Memory and Perception Mental Health and Wellness Research Alzheimer's disease Biomarker Clinical Trials Dementia Genetics Memory Loss Source Type: blogs